1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to rotatable labels, and more particularly to a system and method for constructing a rotatable label device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Most consumer product containers are labeled with various types of information, such as product directions for use, warnings, dosage amounts, ingredients, advertisements, artwork, and the like. This information normally takes the form of written indicia presented on a label wrapped around the container. In many instances, however, the available space on a single label is insufficient to display all the information a product manufacturer may wish to present.
To provide additional space for the presentation of information on a given container, it has been proposed that an outer label positioned around an inner label may be employed. The outer label typically has a transparent portion and, by rotating the outer label relative to an inner label attached to the container, the information on the inner label can be viewed through the transparent portion. Such a construction permits information to be presented on both the outer and inner labels, thus substantially increasing the available space upon which information may be presented.
Despite the advantages of having a rotating label on a container, it has been impractical to employ rotating labels, in most circumstances due, to the high cost and difficulty of applying such a rotating label to a container. One significant difficulty has been maintaining the rotating label in the proper position relative to the product container. Because outer labels are typically not adhered to either the container or the inner label, there is a tendency for these outer labels to slide longitudinally relative to the product container, and become partially or fully separated therefrom.
Another limitation of prior rotating label systems has been that the cost of applying rotating labels to containers (on a mass production scale) is prohibitive for many applications. Conventionally, labels are applied to containers by applying an adhesive to either the label or the container and then wrapping the label around the container to adhere the label to the container. This manner of application yields a label that is fixed, and not rotatable, relative to the container. This manner of application has, in the past, not been useful in mounting rotatable labels to containers because of the need for the rotatable label to rotate about, and not be permanently affixed to, the container.
Consequently, a need exists to provide a rotatable label system and method by which a rotatable label may be cost-effectively mounted on a container without preventing the label from being rotatable relative to the container. Additionally, a need exists to provide an effective manner of mounting a rotating label to a container utilizing conventional label application machinery. Moreover, another need exists to provide a rotatable label that may be longitudinally maintained on a container.